“Eh? Everywhere?”

“Yeah!”

“What do you mean everywhere?”

“Well, exactly as I said—everywhere!”

“But where?”

Eris frowns then flicks my forehead.

“Ouch!” I squeak, rubbing the spot where she got me.

“Silly Felicia,” she teases, then turns and points dramatically toward the sprawling forest and jagged mountain range. “See that forest over there? There are fifty-four dungeons hidden among those trees! And across the mountain range?” She spreads her arms wide. “Hundreds more scattered throughout!”

My mouth drops open as she spins around, pointing at the shimmering lake. “And look at the lake! There are sixty-seven dungeons just along the shoreline—and even more lurking under the water!”

“What?! T-that many?” I stammer, still massaging my poor forehead, trying to absorb the insane number of dungeons she’s throwing at me.

“Yup!” Eris confirms, her grin spreading from ear to ear.

Wow!

My brain struggles to process this bombshell. Hundreds of dungeons? I’d imagined maybe ten… tops! But hundreds? How in the world is that even possible?

“I-I don’t understand!” I shake my head in disbelief. “If there are so many, where does all the space come from? Unless each dungeon is, like, the size of a garden shed or something?”

“Nope!” Eris replies, “It doesn’t matter, because they have their own spaces and don’t overlap with our land!”

Huh? I squint at her, still trying to make sense of it.

Then, realization dawns.

“Ooooh… so they’re like… separate dimensions?”

“Yup,” Eris nods, before proceeding to tell me more.

Turns out, dungeons in this world aren’t like regular caves or underground passages. Nope, they’re way cooler! They’re independent realms, each one a unique pocket in the fabric of reality, and even if there are hundreds scattered around, they don’t actually use up any physical space on the land itself!

That’s why there’s always “room” for more. And apparently, new dungeons can randomly appear or vanish as if the world itself is exhaling them in and out of existence like some mystical breath.

“Well, not exactly randomly, though,” Eris adds, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “See how there aren’t any dungeons popping up inside town? If one suddenly appeared here, it’d be a disaster, right?”

“Oh, right!” I say, nodding along. “That would be absolutely terrible!”

However, that leaves another big question.

“But… how do the dungeons know not to show up in towns?”

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Does the dungeon god, or whoever is creating these dungeons, just know to avoid towns?

“It’s because of the leylines,” Eris replies.

“Ley… lines?” I repeat.

“Yup,” she continues. “Leylines are like magical rivers that flow beneath our world, spreading everywhere. And so, dungeons are like cracks that open up along these magical veins. That means if we map out the leylines, we can actually predict where dungeons might appear!”

“Oooh! So, before anyone builds a town, they make sure to avoid leylines so a dungeon won’t just pop up in the middle of everything?”

“Wow, look at you—so smart!” Eris teases, giving me a playful nudge.

“Hihi…” I giggle, feeling proud of myself.

“Well, there’s actually a whole job for predicting and managing dungeons,” Eris adds. “Like how we can forecast disasters and earthquakes, we can try to anticipate when and where dungeons will appear or vanish. But even so…” Her words suddenly trail off. “It’s not like dungeons never appear in populated areas… and there are still so many things we don’t understand about them.”

Hearing that, I'm lost in thoughts for a moment.

After all, even the best predictions are still just that—predictions.

Back in the old world, back on Earth, with all of humanity’s advanced technology and preparation, nature still often proved how powerless we truly were. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods—they came uninvited, sometimes without warning, and the aftermath was always devastating. Thousands of lives lost, homes reduced to rubble… tragedies that no amount of preparation could fully prevent…

Perhaps, dungeons are the same?

If I understand this correctly, they are another kind of natural forces, and we must never underestimate them…

“You know,” Eris breaks the silent of my thoughts. “Dungeons here are ranked, too,” she says.

“Ranked?” I echo. “Oh, right! You mentioned this!”

Just yesterday, Eris told me that her father went missing inside an S-rank dungeon!

“Alright,” Eris’ eyes then narrow, looking at me. “Listen carefully, Felicia. Dungeons, like adventurers, are classified from F-rank to S-rank. The Adventurer’s Guild assigns these ranks based on the danger level after extensive investigations. About half of all dungeons are F rank, relatively safe. Some are so harmless they don’t even contain monsters….

“But the other half,” her expression darkens. “the other half, those E rank or higher, are packed with danger.

So, as a general rule…” she continues, “it takes a party of five adventurers of the same rank to explore a dungeon safely. So, for example, to venture into an A-rank dungeon, you need five A-rank adventurers, no exceptions. Underestimating a dungeon is a fatal mistake. Never enter one without meticulous preparation, Felicia.”

Gulp…

I swallow hard.

As I hear Eris say that, the image of her giant scar on her back flashes through my mind.

Yes, it still haunts me.

Eris is a seasoned adventurer, and even she made mistakes—mistakes that almost cost her life.

Thus, I nod, silently promising myself to always remember her advice.

However, something else comes to mind, a question popping up. “But… your father… why did he go into an S-rank dungeon? He was only an A-rank adventurer, right?”

“It’s… because the authorities underestimated it…” Eris answers, her voice tight.

She pauses for a second. I look down and notice her fists clenching, her knuckles turning white. The frustration in her eyes is palpable.

Ah… damn it.

I asked something I shouldn’t have.

“I’m sorry…” I murmur.

“No, it’s okay,” Eris says. She heaves a deep sigh. “They said it was just a regular A-rank dungeon, but then, it suddenly changed… Twenty people, including my father… not a single one returned…”

“Eris…” I whisper, my heart aching even more for her.

“Sorry, Felicia…” Eris says, wiping her tears and forcing a smile. “I just got emotional again.”

She stops for a moment, then continues, “You know, being an adventurer isn’t just about exploring the mysteries and riches of dungeons. It’s also about protecting the weak and innocent from the threat of dungeon monsters breaking through…”

“Wait… monsters can come outside of dungeons?” I ask, eyes widening.

“Of course,” Eris replies. “But don’t worry, it doesn’t happen very often. And even if it does, I’ll be here to protect you.”

As she says that, she takes my hand again.

Ba-dump!

“T-thank you,” I whisper, my voice soft, a warm blush spreading across my cheeks as I squeeze her hand back gently.

The way she says that makes her seem really, really cool. But beyond that, I know she genuinely means it. For some reason, just having her by my side makes me feel incredibly secure, as if no danger could ever reach me.

We stay on top of the clock tower a while longer, talking more about dungeons. Before I even realize it, the moon has risen high, the stars twinkle brightly, and the night wind blows, cool and refreshing.